Dahlia Morgana Potter and the First Year Blues
by penguins-n-skittles
Summary: Dahlia Potter defeated Lord Voldemort when she was just one year old, or so she's told. In her first year at Hogwarts will she be able to live up to the hype or end up cracking under pressure? Maybe she just needs help from her mentor and her pen pal...
1. One Halloween Night

Disclaimer: Harry Potter will always belong to JK Rowling and I'm certainly no JK Rowling.

A/N: So, my brain drifts off when I try and write the second chapter to either Shattered Vows or A Surprise Visit and the last time it did, I got to thinking about my Girl Harry fanfic. Feeling like it was a little too much like the books, I decided to try and think of a few ways to change up that kind of story. This is what came out of it…

For a large portion of the wizarding world, it was the happiest day of their life. Nearly every single witch and wizard in England was celebrating the downfall of Lord Voldemort, one of the most evil wizards ever to live. Rumors were flying over how the Dark Lord had finally been defeated. There were those who had claimed that Albus Dumbledore was the one to kill Lord Voldemort. Then, there were the silliest ones of Voldemort being defeated by a one-year-old, of all things. One thing was for sure, though. That day was one that was going to go down in wizarding history.

Unfortunately, one of the most directly involved people would never remember that day. At a little over one year old, young Dahlia Potter did not realize how much her life would be changed. She didn't understand that she would never see her parents again. They wouldn't be able to teach her right from wrong or comfort her when the boy in her class pulled her pigtails and pushed her off the jungle gym. There would be no crying and picture-taking during dances or her father giving her away at her wedding.

No, the tiny girl with the dark red hair knew none of this as she sat on the ground playing with the chubby little brown-haired boy who seemed to be about the same age as her. They were rolling a ball back and forth as they made random noises at each other, though sometimes they would stop and just coo for a while. While the kids played together, a much more serious group of adults sat around a table. Two of the people were clearly the boys' parents as the mother had the same round face and straight brown hair. The father was taller and instead of sitting at the table, he was standing behind his wife with his hands on her shoulders so he could give her comfort.

At the head of the table was a tall, imposing figure with white hair and a long beard. He had on half-moon spectacles and was looking around the table with an unusually grim expression. On his right side was a black-haired woman wearing an emerald cloak. Her hair was in a tight bun and she looked rather stern, though her face softened every time she glanced over at the two children playing. On the other side of the white-haired elder was a lean, brown-haired man wearing shabby clothes. He too seemed unable to keep from looking at the two children, although his gaze was more for the girl than the boy. The last of the group was an older grey-haired woman who had on a purple hat. She seemed extremely nervous as she sat, knitting a blanket and mumbling to herself.

The white-haired man cleared his throat as he looked around the table, "I called you all here because I need to ask something of you. As I'm sure you are able to figure out on your own, this concerns the placement of the young Miss Potter who is currently playing over there with the Longbottom boy."

The man next to him tore his gaze away from the kids to stare at the older man, sadness evident in his face, "It's true, then. Lily and James have been killed, Dumbledore?"

Albus Dumbledore placed his hand on the shoulder of the grief-stricken werewolf next to him, "I'm afraid so, Remus. Some of the circumstances surrounding the event seem to be unclear, but this is one that is not. Voldemort murdered them before turning his attention to their daughter."

Gasps were heard from everyone around the table, though some of the gasps seemed equally for the mention of the name and the idea that the evil wizard would attack a child not even old enough to speak. The woman in the emerald cloak spoke up, "But if he attacked her, than how did she survive?"

The Hogwarts headmaster turned his attention to the girl that they were speaking about, though his words weren't meant for her but for all of the adults, "That is something that can't truly be answered except by those who were present at the time. Unfortunately, I do not think many of the answers that people will be searching for will not be found, Minerva."

Remus Lupin frowned as he looked around the table and at the door to the room, "Why isn't Sirius here? Dahlia is his goddaughter and he should have a say in how she is to be raised."

Dumbledore looked at Remus, "Sirius seems to have disappeared. I can't tell you much about that at the moment, though."

The mother of the baby boy sat up straight in her chair, staring determinedly at Professor Dumbledore, "Albus, since Sirius isn't here, I'd like to request that Frank and I take care of Dahlia. She gets along well with Neville and he has so few other children around to play with. Plus, I'm sure that James and Lily would either want us or Sirius to take care of her. We will treat her well and she will be brought up properly."

Frank nodded his agreement, though their expressions quickly soured once Dumbledore spoke, "Fine sentiments, indeed. I'm afraid, though, that I think it would be best if she is placed in the care of living relatives. That is usually how these things go, I believe."

Both Minerva McGonagall and Remus started. Remus looked at Albus in disbelief, "Surely you don't mean Petunia and Vernon Dursley. They hated James and Lily! Who knows how they'll treat Dahlia. How is it best to be brought up in a house of hate?"

Minerva nodded as well, "Quite right! I've heard tales from Lily about her sister. I think it's clear that Dahlia is going to greatly resemble her mother and Petunia will transfer all of her pettiness from mother to daughter. There's got to be some other way."

Dumbledore shook his head, looking around the group before his eyes settled on the girl in question, "Minerva and I will go to the Dursley residence later and speak to them. If they agree to watch over young Miss Potter, then I shall put people in place to make sure that she is properly taken care of. If they refuse, then you, Frank and Alice Longbottom, would be next in line to take her in. That's the best that we can do here."

The older woman stopped knitting as she looked up at Dumbledore, "I don't understand why I was called here, Dumbledore. I have nothing to offer."

Giving her a small smile, Dumbledore leaned back in his seat, "Why, Arabella, I thought you could be one of those to watch out for the girl. There is a house near the Dursleys which is for sale at the moment."

With that out of the way, the small group moved their discussion to other important things. Once their talk came to a close, the group began to disperse leaving only Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin. Lupin was too far away to hear the discussion between Dumbledore and McGonagall, trying to keep little Dahlia occupied since he didn't know the next time he would be seeing her. Professor Dumbledore stared intently at his younger colleague, "Minerva, I have a favor to ask of you…"

McGonagall nodded, "Anything, Albus…"

Shaking his head, the older man let out a quiet chuckle, "Do not be so quick to agree. As the headmaster at Hogwarts, I can not be seen as biased in one way or another towards a child. I am watched very closely by parents and the board of governors to make sure I do not do anything wrong. I daresay that the board of governors would be less likely to watch you, though."

Professor McGonagall quirked an eyebrow, "What are you suggesting?"

Adjusting his spectacles, the wise wizard studied the dark-haired witch, "I am suggesting that every year during the summer, at least until she turns eleven, you visit the child for a week or so. That is, if the Dursleys even agree to take her in. Maybe send letters back and forth every once in a while? Just keep in touch with the girl and see that she is getting what she needs."

The middle-aged witch watched as Remus played peek-a-boo with the small one year old. Her thoughts seemed to be zigzagging all over the place, knowing that the answer should be quite obvious. She thought about all the stories about Petunia and her husband that she had heard from Lily, who she was much closer to than James. The Dursleys were the sort of muggles who You-Know-Who could use to prove his theories on the importance of blood. Then, she thought about how the girl would grow up dealing with the aftermath of what had happened in Godric's Hollow, never remembering what had gone on.

It was the thoughts of all the things that Lily and James would miss out on in Dahlia's life that tipped the scales in her favor. The girl was an innocent, too young to have done anything wrong. And _he_ had come along and destroyed her normal life like he had so many others before. That was the real reason that she had ended up nodding her head and agreeing to Dumbledore's request.

*~*~*~*Later that evening…*~*~*~*

Dumbledore and McGonagall had waited a few hours, letting Lupin play with the little girl for as long as he could. He seemed to be trying to etch her appearance into his memory in case he never got to see her again. Now, hours later, they were standing on the Dursley doorstep, McGonagall holding baby Dahlia in her arms and standing behind Dumbledore.

The elderly wizard glanced back once at the witch and her charge for the moment, before turning back to the door and knocking on it. Moments later, a tall blond woman opened the door, staring at the oddly dressed couple on her steps with a mixture of annoyance and confusion. From her vantage point, she could just barely see McGonagall's face and nothing else. Frowning, she spoke up, "Excuse me, but what on Earth are you doing knocking on my door at such an hour and dressed so oddly?"

Dumbledore spoke as gravely as he could, trying to force her to let them in on willpower alone, "Petunia Dursley, we are here on important business. You would do well to let us in. It is about your sister and your brother-in-law."

Petunia eyed him with distrust, clearly recognizing him, "So, you are the Albus Dumbledore my sister is always going on about. Can't you just tell me what this is about out here and be gone? My husband and I would rather not have you sully our house. Why couldn't my _precious _sister send a letter giving me this news herself?"

McGonagall let out a snort of derision and frustration as she adjusted Dahlia in her arms. The snort turned Mrs. Dursley's attention to the older witch, where she caught a glimpse of the baby in her arms. Though the glimpse she got of the baby was a quick one, she recognized enough of Lily's own features to realize whose baby it was. Gasping from shock, the woman looked between the two again, "What has happened? Why are you bringing my sister's daughter here?"

Tired of standing on the doorstep, the cloaked witch answered harshly, "As we have much to discuss with you, this conversation would be better held inside your house. We do not have the time to waste with your prejudices."

The rather rude pronouncement by the Hogwarts teacher did what little else could have. It shocked Petunia into actually letting the two magic users into the house. They heard a loud voice crying over and over again in the kitchen, "I want! I want! I want!"

Petunia's husband called from the kitchen as well, louder than normal so he could be heard by his wife, "What blasted salesman is coming to our door at this time of night? Did you tell them off, Petunia dear? Set our darling Dudley off, they did. Now he'll never go to sleep."

He stopped speaking as soon as he had walked into the hallway, seeing the two strangely-clothed visitors standing just by the door. Albus seemed not to notice the awkwardness of the situation as he clapped his hands together, "Well, I think that it would be wise if Mr. and Mrs. Dursley and I go into the living room and have a chat. Minerva, you can take Miss Potter into the kitchen and see if you two can't quiet down the other child. Shall we?"

The authoritative way he spoke broke off any complaint that Petunia or Vernon might have voiced. They followed without a word as Dumbledore walked into the living room, though Minerva wasn't quite sure how he knew where it was. She walked into the kitchen, still carrying the Potter girl. The minute she stepped into the kitchen, the extremely chubby baby in the high chair shut up.

He stared at the small girl as if he'd never seen anything like her, though they were just about the same age and he had surely been around other children his age with the way his parents obviously spoiled him. Luckily, there was another high chair in the corner that was probably used for when his friends came over. She brought it over to the table and set the baby girl down in it, who yawned as she stretched slightly. The boy stretched out his arms to the girl, whining.

She moved the two chairs closer together so that they wouldn't make too much noise, wanting to know what the three others were talking about. McGonagall frowned, since she couldn't hear anything from the other room except lowered voices. Walking closer to the door, she found that she was still unable to decipher meaning from the mutterings she was hearing. She looked back at the children when she heard giggles coming from the girl. What she saw surprised her a great deal.

Little Dahlia's face was covered in what appeared to be baby food. The chubby boy, who McGonagall recalled was named Dudley, also had the mush all over his hands. It seemed to her that the boy had been trying to feed her like his mother fed him, except he had used his hands. Now, both babies were playing with the mush in the bowl, getting food all over their clothes and faces.

The voices were getting louder as they were apparently now coming towards the kitchen. Vernon's voice was loudest of all as he growled out, "I will not have a freak like that living in my house! I don't care if she is your flesh and blood, Petunia."

Albus spoke calmly, though there was anger clear underneath, "That is a regrettable decision, Mr. Dursley. How one can hold such bias towards an innocent child has always been beyond me."

Petunia was the first one to walk into the kitchen, followed by Albus and Vernon was last through the door. Petunia seemed fascinated by the sight of her son and Lily's daughter playing together in the bowl. She didn't even appear to mind the mess that was being made, though she was clearly one to keep an orderly house. Albus directed his words to McGonagall, though he was still looking at Vernon, "Minerva, I can see that our effort here is wasted. We should just be able to make it to the Longbottom house before they put Neville to sleep. It's a shame…"

Dumbledore was cut off by Petunia, who was still staring at the children, "No, that won't be necessary. We will take in the girl and raise her. I accept the terms that you gave us for how we are to bring her up."

It wasn't clear who was most surprised by Petunia's words; Minerva, Vernon, or Petunia herself. As soon as Dumbledore saw what she was looking at, he merely said three words, "Ah, I see."

The witch did not seem to be seeing the same thing that the other two were seeing, but was just happy that Dahlia had a place to live. Vernon blustered and tried to get his wife to change her mind, though Petunia seemed to be set in her opinion on the subject. It was clear to Minerva that the other woman would not turn her niece out.

Since the objective behind their visit had been achieved, Dumbledore and McGonagall said good-bye to the girl and her new guardians. As they left the house, the Hogwarts professor turned to her boss, "Before we go our separate ways for the night, what were the terms that you gave them?"

Dumbledore's startling blue eyes seemed to have gotten their twinkle back as he answered, "While I am unable to tell you all of the terms, I can tell you this. Petunia has agreed to allow you and one other magical person to keep in contact with the Potter girl until she turns eleven. You will be allowed to visit the Dursley residence for a week or two in the summer when you are the least busy. You will also be allowed to visit for a couple of days during the Christmas holiday. They are allowing you to write to her as well and the other person will have a mail correspondence with her only. I do hope that you will keep me updated on the more important aspects of her childhood."

Though Minerva had many more questions for him, she knew that they had a lot of things that they would need to take care of in the coming days. For this reason, she merely nodded before they said their own good-byes. Dumbledore disapparated quickly, probably thinking about all of the work that needed doing. McGonagall was slower to leave as she stared at the house for a few minutes. As she disapparated as well, she could be heard whispering, "I will see you soon, Dahlia Potter…"

A/N: I've put up a poll on my profile if anyone would like to go vote on it. No pressure! I am working on the other stories; the characters are just giving me a bit of trouble. I have one page of Shattered Vows written, so it should be up in the next few days, hopefully.


	2. Dudley's Birthday

A/N: So, I won't be in town on the weekend since I have a wedding to go to. I've decided to post this up quick. It's short but I wanted to do the trip to Diagon Alley all together.

Ten years had passed since that fateful Halloween night. Dahlia Potter, now nearly eleven years old, stood in front of the stove. Her dark red hair was pulled up into a ponytail and she held a spatula in her right hand. She was watching all of the food on the stove, making sure that it didn't burn. Her aunt, Petunia, was the first of her relatives to enter the kitchen. She studied the nearly made breakfast with a tight smile. Dahlia smiled at her aunt, speaking quietly, "Good morning, Aunt Petunia. I've gotten nearly everything ready, like you asked me to. I hope everything tastes all right."

The tall blonde was about to say something when her husband came into the room. He glared at the young girl, "Isn't breakfast ready yet? It's Dudley's birthday and everything must be perfect!"

Dahlia brought all of the food that was ready to the kitchen table, setting it in the middle, along with some utensils to grab the food. She barely glanced at the large group of presents that she knew to be her cousin's before turning her attention back to the food on the stove. Vernon was glaring at her as she hummed to herself, though she was ignoring him as usual.

She knew that he hated her, though she didn't really care why. The preteen was used to his moods around her, so she understood that trying to get on his good side would be futile. He grunted as he looked down at the food, speaking angrily, "Is this all that you've made? Are you trying to starve my son?"

Refraining from rolling her eyes, the curly-haired girl shook her head. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, answering calmly, "No, Uncle Vernon. I followed the directions Aunt Petunia gave me last night. I'm sorry if you don't like it."

She was saved from having to hear his reply as they heard footsteps on the stairs. Seconds later, Dudley came rushing into the kitchen. He was a good five or six inches taller than his cousin and was slightly pudgy. Dahlia gave her cousin a small smile as she put out some plates for the family. "Happy birthday, Dudley. What would you like to drink?"

Though Dudley was pudgy, Dahlia figured that he would end up playing football when he got older. It was something that she thought would do him good and which he would enjoy, which could be used to rid him of some of his aggression. He grinned as he looked at all of the presents in the corner. "Just milk. When do I get to open all of my presents?"

Vernon turned to his son, smacking him on the back, chuckling, "Right after breakfast you can open your presents. When is your little friend going to get here?"

Dudley thought for a moment before shrugging, "Piers said he was going to be here in a couple of hours."

The young girl wrinkled her nose up in distaste, having a deep seated dislike for Dudley's best friend. Her cousin wouldn't let anyone talk bad about her while he was around, but his best friend liked to taunt her whenever Dudley wasn't in the room. He also managed to get Dudley's other friends to gang up on her when the blonde was sick and not in school. For this reason, she let out a sigh of relief once her aunt started to speak, "That reminds me. Dahlia, your Aunt Minerva is going to be coming today and take you to get your things for that school."

Vernon didn't say anything, but the redhead could tell that he was unhappy with the change of topic. Nobody was allowed to mention _Hogwarts_ or anything to do with it in his presence. He barely tolerated the woman that she called Aunt Minnie, even though she wasn't an aunt. In fact, Dahlia was quite sure that if he could, he would have banned the woman from his house. Nodding, the young girl barely managed to conceal her excitement. She looked confused as she spoke questioningly, though, "Isn't she supposed to become in a couple of days on my birthday? I thought she was planning on staying for the week so she could let me know what to expect on the train ride…"

Her aunt shrugged as she picked at her food, "She sent a letter saying that she was terribly sorry but something had come up. She is going to bring you to Diagon Alley so that you can get your stuff, but there will also be someone else meeting you there as she must leave on some important duty."

Vernon let out a bark of laughter that caused the preteen to look at him. He muttered just loud enough for her to hear, "Probably would just rather spend the day doing paperwork than having to deal with the little brat. Can't say that I blame her. Nothing but a bloody nuisance."

Dudley was frowning as he looked at one family member after another. He addressed his question to his mother, clearly upset about something. "So, Dolly won't be coming with us? But I was looking forward to showing her the penguins at the zoo! I know you're always going on about how cute penguins are…"

Smiling at her cousin, the young witch ignored her uncle's warning glance. "Don't worry, Duds. Just take lots of pictures for me. Maybe I can get you something awesome while I'm shopping with Aunt Minnie."

This caused Dudley smile slightly as he looked over at his younger cousin. "You promise? It better not be a book or anything. You know how I hate reading."

Unable to keep herself from laughing a little, Dahlia nodded to the boy sitting next to her. "I promise! And it definitely won't be a book. I know you're allergic to books."

Vernon cleared his throat to get his son's attention. Dahlia quietly picked up the dishes as Dudley turned his attention to the packages in the corner. It was a tradition for him to open some of the more embarrassing presents before his guest arrived. As he was on his seventh present of who knew how many, a knock came at the door. Without being told, the girl moved out of the kitchen and to the front door. Opening it up, she saw Minerva McGonagall standing in the doorway.

Minerva eyed the girl up and down, checking her for any signs of neglect. The young girl had told to be dressed in some of her better clothes and now she knew why. She was wearing a black skirt that went to her knees as well as a white button up shirt. Dahlia smiled at the older woman, speaking excitedly "Aunt Minnie! I just found out that you were coming today. Can we see Dudley open a few more presents before we go? He's kind of upset that I can't go with them to the zoo."

Minerva nodded as she looked around the hallway, noticing it looked a lot like it had when she had been there years before. She was a bit distracted as she answered, "Of course we can stay for a little while. You have all day to shop for your school supplies. I've got your letter and your list of what you need to buy. Just remember that you are to call me Professor McGonagall when we are at Hogwarts."

As they went back into the kitchen, Dahlia saw that her cousin had waited for her to get back into the room before he continued to open his presents. She made the appropriate oohing and aahing noises to show her appreciation for his new gifts. After about a half hour, Minerva finally ushered Dahlia out of the house so they could get a taxi to take them to the Leaky Cauldron.

A/N: I had an idea for another story as well. I don't know how many people watch it, but I wanted to do a Harry Potter-style Big Brother. I know what characters I would put in it and I was thinking of doing it sort of interactively using polls. Review or send me an instant message telling me if you think this is a good idea. The first poll up will be with what twists people would like to see happen during the story. Some twists I already have planned.


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